23 Nov 2005 17:39 GMT DJ FOCUS: Silver Antimicrobial Movement Sees Demand Pick Up
Copyright © 2005, Dow Jones Newswires
By Alison Guerriere Ciaccio
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The antimicrobial effort is moving in on the silver market as consumers ramp up demand for silver's germ-killing components.
Jeffrey Ellis, a consultant to the Washington-based Silver Institute, said during 2004 the market for biocidal silver grew at an overall rate of 15%-20%.
"Silver, with its broad scale effectiveness against infectious organisms and ability to react rapidly with many chemicals, is already being tested for such purposes," Ellis said, adding that efforts are under way to improve the speed of silver's capability to detoxify chemical and biological weapons.
On the forefront of the silver antimicrobial market is AgION Technology, a Wakefield, Mass.-based company that was founded in 1997 and is said to be the leading provider of engineered antimicrobial solutions.
AgION's solutions have found their way into everyday life from the coating on stainless steel appliances, doorknobs and countertops to helping fight odor in Adidas sneakers and Timberland boots.
AgION President and Chief Executive Ladd Greeno told Dow Jones Newswires that his company's largest customer base is in the water-filtration market and heating and air conditioning.
"But we are broadening our consumer applications to expand to cell phones as well (among others)," Greeno said.
Silver has long been known for its antimicrobial properties and AgION has tapped into a market where it has produced an inorganic antimicrobial solution that inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold and fungus.
While water treatment is still the main use, Ellis said, other uses continue to grow markedly, including textile products in which silver is an important ingredient in combating odor, and architectural uses, where silver has broadscale effectiveness against damaging organisms.
Although demand for antimicrobial solutions in sectors like plumbing and hardware have grown from zero, Ellis said the antimicrobial sector represents a small part of overall silver demand.
"There are a lot of potential applications for silver but none have taken off in terms of volume," Ellis said.
He estimates that less than 100,000 troy ounces of silver demand comes from the antimicrobial market.
Greeno said his company, which is said to have raised $40.5 million in financing to date, is not impacted by the recent rise in silver prices.
"We have a long-term supply agreement," Greeno noted.
AgION's next foray will be the fiber and textile markets, where Greeno said he is seeing demand for the "value of clean" that people are willing to pay a premium to have.
-By Alison Guerriere Ciaccio; Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5959; alison.guerriere@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 23, 2005 12:39 ET (17:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.